VideoComments Off on How to Raise Your Self-Esteem by Acknowledging Yourself

Sep122018

A lot of people have a strong inner critic that tears them down, no matter what they do. Instead of helping you, this can undermine your confidence and motivation. To combat this critical inner voice, build yourself up by appreciating yourself and what you do. Linda-Ann will share some specific tips that will cause you to feel better about yourself and accomplish more.

Transcript:

Thank you for joining me. I’m LAS. A lot of people have a strong inner critic. Do you? It’s a part of you who is always criticizing you and everything you do… or don’t do. It tells you that you’re not good enough, not doing enough, not accomplishing enough… just not enough.

Many of my clients have said that they just didn’t feel like they were enough. That was the way they put it, “I don’t feel like I’m enough.” Have you ever felt that way? You may think that always criticizing yourself can push you to do more, but the opposite is, in fact, true. It can actually sabotage you because it undermines your confidence and motivation. I mean, why try when it’s never enough, right?

Today, I want to give you some specific ways you can respond to the constant criticism you hear from yourself. These tips help to shift your attention to something more positive and build you up rather than tear you down. It’s something I do with my clients, both in my coaching and hypnotherapy practice.

Linda-Ann Stewart of Heartvision Consulting, vision strategist. Using my 30 years of experience as a hypnotherapist, I help women business owners and entrepreneurs align their heart with their vision, chart their course and focus on the strategies that will bring them greater success and prosperity on their terms.

When we talk, I urge them to pay attention to what has changed or improved since our last session. To what they have accomplished. Many of them first tell me nothing is different. But as they talk, they realize just how much has changed and what they have accomplished.

We focus on their progress, and by doing so, are able to build on it. It’s a simple technique of acknowledging what they’ve done, instead of focusing on what they haven’t done. When you focus on what you HAVE done, then you’re motivated to do more. You build up momentum, because you’re feeling successful. And success breeds success.

For instance, I once had a friend, Laura, who used this technique of acknowledging what she’d done. She had a strong inner critic that paralyzed her. Do you ever feel that way? She discovered a way to combat that inner critic. She’d acknowledge her small wins each day. In her journal, she’d list that she’d eaten breakfast, fed the dog, washed her dishes, etc.

These are all daily tasks that had to be done each day, right? And you might wonder why she’d write down these daily tasks shortly after she got up. But it made her feel like she’d accomplished something. It triggered the reward circuit in her brain and released pleasure chemicals into her body. It energized her to keep going and do more. It got her out of the paralysis. Sounds good, right?

I’m sure you’ve heard of a gratitude journal, where you write down things that you’re grateful for each day. Some research is now showing that doing the same thing with your accomplishments, no matter how small, can turn your mood around and make you feel more motivated. It can make you feel like you’re good enough, just like when my clients would start to acknowledge their changes. Acknowledging 3 small wins each day for 7 days can lift your self-esteem for 3 months. Wouldn’t that be great? And it’s simple to do.

Just make a commitment to recognize what you’ve done during the day. It can be in a journal form, or on your phone or calendar. You can acknowledge small achievements, like my friend Laura did, or bigger ones. But don’t just limit this to your accomplishments. Also recognize when you’ve made a small step forward. Not just that you’ve finished a project, but that you’ve worked on a small part of it. Give yourself credit for your effort, not just the results. What can you acknowledge yourself for today?

For instance, acknowledge when you declined that donut, or only had one bite of it, or had a salad for lunch. When you balanced your checkbook or paid down your credit card. Or when you made that one follow up call you’d been dreading. All of these are valid actions to celebrate.

Other items you can appreciate about yourself are your strengths, your values, and your talents. For instance, you are consistent in sending out an ezine every month. That’s something to acknowledge. Or when you fulfill a promise, to yourself or someone else, like being on time for a lunch date. Or if you’ve been wanting to draw, and finally put a pencil to paper, that’s something to be proud of.

When you begin to focus on what’s good about you and what you do, instead of what’s negative, you’ll feel better about yourself. You’re praising yourself for being who you are in your life. You’ll feel like you’re making progress, which is important. Because progress means you’re moving forward. It’s encouraging and inspiring. And isn’t that a better way to motivate yourself?

If you’d like some help in achieving your goals, apply for a complimentary Clarify Your Vision coaching consultation.

Thank you for watching. I hope to hear from you that acknowledging yourself has made you feel more motivated and enough. Take care.

As a vision strategist, hypnotherapist, and speaker, Linda-Ann Stewart helps women entrepreneurs and small business owners who feel stuck, immobilized and overwhelmed to to get clear, focused and on the fast track to the next level of their business. If you'd like some help to reach your goals, apply for her complimentary "Clarify Your Vision" consultation at http://www.Linda-AnnStewart.com/coaching.shtml

ArticleComments Off on 3 Reasons to Acknowledge and Appreciate Yourself

Sep112018

“The deepest principle in human nature is the craving to be appreciated.” William James, pioneer in psychology

Most of us tend to be hard on ourselves. We’re highly self-critical, paying more attention to what we haven’t done than what we have. Although we think this helps push us to be better, to achieve our goals, it actually does the opposite. Criticizing yourself is demoralizing and discouraging, and it undermines your motivation and productivity. It makes you feel unworthy and like you’re never good enough. Being self-critical can paralyze you rather than boost you to get more done. It also disconnects you from your inner self and the Universe, making it harder to access your intuition or activate the Law of Attraction.

We’re also taught not to blow our own horn or shamelessly shout our own praise to the world. That’s considered to be prideful and self-centered. So we tend to hide our accomplishments and brush aside compliments. At the same time, we secretly crave acknowledgement and appreciation. These are normal and appropriate desires. It’s only when we abandon ourselves to seek approval from others that these natural impulses can become toxic.

What It Means to Acknowledge Yourself

But how can you find the appreciation you crave, when seeking it from others is disempowering? And how can you drive yourself without making yourself feel insignificant for not doing enough? The way you find this satisfaction is by acknowledging yourself and your accomplishments. When you do, you’re not being conceited or vain, but being honest about your efforts. Acknowledging yourself has nothing to do with building up your ego to feel better than someone else. It has nothing to do with anyone but you and what’s right about you. This is the way the Universe has always seen you.

By acknowledging yourself, you are simply recognizing your authenticity and accomplishments. You give yourself credit for what you do and who you are. This connects you with your center and the Universe, which has always believed in you. You also have more clarity to direct the Law of Attraction. As you support yourself with this kindness and honesty, you validate yourself and accept that you have value.

The Reasons to Acknowledge Yourself

One of the things I do with clients is to have them acknowledge themselves and celebrate their accomplishments. Most of the time, they don’t realize how much they’ve done or how things have changed until we do this exercise. The following are tangible benefits of acknowledging yourself.

1. Raises your self-esteem. Your self-esteem derives from your sense of how much you respect yourself. When you begin to notice what’s good about you and what you have attained, your self-worth rises and you self-image improves. You believe more in yourself and your abilities, which mean you are willing to expand out of your comfort zone.

2. Increases your motivation. Don’t you want to do more when you feel like you’re making progress? For instance, you start to go through a pile of papers, filing things, and once you see how much you’ve whittled it down, you want to do more. The same is true when you pay attention to even the small wins in a day. It energizes and inspires you. You feel encouraged and to reach for more.

3. Improves your mood. Don’t you feel good when you check off tasks that you’ve completed? It activates the reward circuit in the brain and triggers the release of pleasure chemicals. The same is true when you celebrate your efforts. You feel better about yourself and life, and have more resources to deal with challenges.

Give yourself permission to celebrate who you are and your accomplishments. Consider your good qualities, your efforts, and your progress. By making this a daily practice, your life will be richer and happier. You’ll be meeting one of your deepest needs and empower yourself to fulfill more of your potential. The Universe would approve. What can you do today to acknowledge yourself?
Affirmation:
The Universe appreciates me just as I am. It believes in me and knows that I can achieve whatever I desire. I now give myself permission to acknowledge what’s good about me and the good that I do. I know that the Universe approves of and supports me in this activity.

As a vision strategist, hypnotherapist, and speaker, Linda-Ann Stewart helps women entrepreneurs and small business owners who feel stuck, immobilized and overwhelmed to to get clear, focused and on the fast track to the next level of their business. If you'd like some help to reach your goals, apply for her complimentary "Clarify Your Vision" consultation at http://www.Linda-AnnStewart.com/coaching.shtml